Relaxing in Missoula

While Hart was gallivanting around Asia and Australia, I spent a week in Missoula with our friends Steve and Christina. It was an educational trip -- we went snowshoeing (the first time I'd ever done it), made marshmallows and Christina taught me how to knit and to make biscuits and pie crust. Mostly we talked a lot.

Christina and I shared an office during our master's program and were TAs together. Steve started the PhD program the same year Christina and I started our master's program. They are now both communication professors and have been living in Missoula for four years. Any time we get to spend with them is never enough.

There was an unexpected snowstorm the day before my trip. Our car couldn't be driven that far (long story), so I rented a Chevy Trailblazer for peace of mind. Snoqualmie Pass, which is about 45 minutes outside of Seattle, was my first stop. I had to pull off the road because the back window was covered in muddy muck and I had no idea how to turn on the back wipers. But it was a gorgeous place to be detained.


Christina and Steve's dogs, Bosco and Amore went snowshoeing with us. These two pictures, with Bosco's mournful look and Amore's snow-covered muzzle, capture their personalities well.




On the way home, the scenery in Idaho was so beautiful that I stopped on the side of the road to take pictures. I love the hopefulness shown by new growth interspersed with fire-damaged trees.


Normally the stretch between Spokane and Snoqualmie Pass is dull, dull, dull, but the sky was amazing that day. Both pictures were taken in little towns that I pulled off in just to capture the beauty.




Returning home on Thursday, March 2 was exciting too. Not only was Hart coming home the next day, but our friends Annie and Mark welcomed Charlotte Rose into their family on March 1.

Tomorrow we leave for Columbia, MO for a gathering of Hart's college friends, most of whom were in Belize for Randy and Talisyn's wedding.